Hungry Wildcats set to pounce on hapless Red Raiders

Manhattan, KS (Sports Network) - A pair of teams at opposite ends of the Big
12 Conference standings are set to meet on Monday night, as the Kansas State
Wildcats welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to Bramlage Coliseum.

Texas Tech's season started off promising enough at 8-4, but things have gone
south in the past 13 games, as it has claimed victory in just one of those
matchups. The Red Raiders extended their season-long losing streak to eight
games on Saturday afternoon when they were saddled with an 86-66 setback at
Iowa State, and they currently sit in ninth place in the Big 12 at 2-12.

Meanwhile, Kansas State has soared this season to a 22-5 overall record, and
at 11-3 in league action, it is tied for first place with Kansas. The Wildcats
dismissed Texas on the road this past Saturday (81-69) for their seventh win
in their last eight games, and they now return home where they've won 13 of 14
this season.

Kansas State has owned Texas Tech with wins in six straight contests, most
recently claiming a 68-59 decision in the first meeting this season on Feb. 5,
to take a 17-12 lead in the all-time series.

Texas Tech could do very little to keep pace with the hot-shooting Cyclones
over the weekend, as it connected on just 40.4 percent from the field and 13-
of-25 from the foul line in the 20-point loss. Josh Gray was impressive in the
setback, scoring 20 points on 7-of-15 from the field. Jaye Crockett logged a
double-double off the bench with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Dejan Kravic
added 10 points and three blocks. The Red Raiders have had difficulty stopping
teams from scoring all season long, as they allow a generous 72.3 ppg, which
completely neutralizes their offensive production (66.2 ppg). Crockett is the
team's top performer, tallying 12.3 ppg and 7.2 rpg in mostly a reserve role.
Gray nets 10.0 ppg, but on less than 38 percent accuracy from the floor, and
Jordan Tolbert (9.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Kravic (8.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.4) have both
been solid in the frontcourt with field goal percentages greater than .510.

Kansas State got out to an eight-point lead at the half at Texas on Saturday
night and it never surrendered that advantage on its way to a double-digit
victory. Rodney McGruder led the way with 20 points for his 21st 20-plus point
performance of his career. Angel Rodriguez (16 points) and Shane Southwell (11
points) both got their teammates involved with six assists apiece, while
Thomas Gipson netted 10 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The biggest key
to the Wildcats' success this season has been their scoring defense, which is
tied with Kansas for tops in the conference in allowing just 59.9 ppg. Their
offense puts up more than enough points to support the stout defensive showing
(69.5 ppg), and they are also aided by positive margins in the rebounding
(+3.9) and turnover (+2.5) battles. McGruder is the top scoring threat with
15.0 ppg, while Rodriguez (10.9 ppg) has handed out 128 assists while
committing just 56 turnovers.